First Civil War War

Masthead image created for William Safire's On Language column in the New York Times Magazine. Every week, the Times asks another designer to illustrate the title of the article. In this case, I was contacted by an editor, who asked for a reprise of my tendril piece. The text was provided one morning, and the final image deadline was about 48 hours later.

Three final versions are shown here, and one of them was selected for the actual printed piece. Perhaps interestingly, the online version actually used a different title: “First Civil &ndash War”. I first thought this change was an error, however it hasn't been altered since its initial posting so perhaps Mr. Safire changed his mind after the magazine had gone to press.